Exploring the evolution of molecular architecture of starch from granule initiation to maturity

淀粉仍然是一个引起强烈科学兴趣的主题，因为这种自组装的大分子结构的复杂性；淀粉在我们饮食中的重要性；以及它对健康指标的影响。我的长期目标仍然是重点了解淀粉颗粒的结构，并将淀粉的结构组成与其在多组分食品系统中的功能行为及其对人类健康的影响联系起来。我的短期目标是在淀粉颗粒发育的早期阶段确定聚合物的分子结构，以可能了解颗粒的启动，以及确定淀粉颗粒内半结晶和无定形淀粉结构(即交替生长环)之间的结构差异。目前对瞬时淀粉的研究较少，特别是对支链淀粉的内部结构、单元链组成和分子结构的研究较少。此外，据我所知，只发表了3篇关于昼夜节律对淀粉颗粒形态的影响的论文，而没有一篇研究在不同光照条件下生长的淀粉颗粒的内部结构。因此，这项建议的目标是1)在淀粉颗粒发育的早期阶段确定聚合物的分子结构，无论是瞬时淀粉还是储存淀粉，以可能了解颗粒的起始；以及2)了解颗粒的日常传播对非晶区和半晶区分子结构的影响。拟议的研究结果将对更深入地了解淀粉颗粒的内部结构和结构做出重大贡献，这些都是研究界非常感兴趣的话题。

Starch remains a subject of intense scientific interest because of the structural complexity of this self-assembling macromolecule; the importance of starch in our diet; and its impact on health indicators. My long-term goal continues to be a focus on understanding starch granule architecture and relating the architectural makeup of starch to its functional behaviour in multi-component food systems and their consequent impact on human health. My short-term goal is to determine the molecular architecture of polymers at early stages of starch granule development to likely understand granule initiation, as well as to determine the structural differences between semi-crystalline and amorphous starch structures (i.e., alternating growth rings) within the starch granules. There is a paucity of research on transient starches, specifically on the characterization of amylopectin in terms of internal structure, composition of unit chains and molecular architecture. Furthermore, to the best of my knowledge only 3 papers have been published on the effect of diurnal rhythm on granule morphology, while none have studied the internal structure of the starch granules when grown under different light conditions. Therefore, the goals in this proposal are to 1) determine the molecular architecture of polymers at early stages of starch granule development, in both transient and storage starches, to likely understand granule initiation; and 2) understand the impact of diurnal propagation of granule on the molecular structure in amorphous versus semi-crystalline areas. Results from the proposed study will make significant contributions to a deeper understanding of starch granule internal structure and architecture - topics that are of great interest in the research community.